Maddux Sports Blog

Cliff Lee became the latest big name pitcher to make his spring training debut with a new team yesterday. It was a mixed bag – mostly, but not entirely, positive. The good news is that he lasted the full three innings he was scheduled for, and he did it without obvious issues with the foot injury that he had been struggling with up to this point. It’s also pretty positive that he only allowed one run and one walk in those five innings. The problem is that he allowed five hits in the outing, and his control  wasn’t exactly pinpoint throughout. It’s too early to panic, of course, and the Mariners just have to be relieved that their new toy isn’t broken, but we’ve been spoiled by so many good outings so far this spring that I guess I just hoped for more – especially considering how optimistic I am about the Mariners this year, and about their rotation in particular.

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I woke up this morning planning to write about the Mariners. I’ve been a long suffering fan of the team, so I am obviously giddy about theoffseason that they have had so far – quite possibly the best in the whole league. Just as I was about to start writing, though, the news broke that things got even better today. Given what the Mariners have accomplished thisoffseason , and the struggles that the Angels have had so far, I don’t think it’s at all unreasonable to call the Mariners the best team in the AL West right now. We’ll take a look at the three deals that have helped them achieve that title, but before we do it’s important to remember that it’s  not like this team has to start from scratch. They were a perfectly respectable 85-77 last year, and that would have had them right in the heart of the AL Central. They still need to be significantly better, but they have a lot of good to build from. Now, the three big moves:

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Each year in the second-half of the MLB season, some teams take off while others seem to simply falter. We’re now about 100 games into the season with 62 left to go. Here’s what’s happening in the AL.

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Here we at the end of month three of the 2009 Major League Baseball season with about 75 games played and 87 to go. There’s been some movement, drift and milestones In the American League as the West is in flux, the Central is looking a tad odd and the East looks like it can change at any moment. Let’s take a quick look at each division.

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Well, it is almost here. Right? So, what the heck is going to happen? The baseball season runs 162 games—the longest season in the professional sports. It is an unforgiving seven-month marathon that demands innumerable roster moves, amazing stamina and individual team play that can make or break an entire season in one game, swing or pitch. What can we expect? Here are ten things that I do believe will happen. Some are for sure and others may appear to be farfetched. Then again, futures are one of the toughest things to get right in sports. 

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- In perhaps the least shocking development in the history of sports, the Giants cut Plaxico Burress today. Good riddance. Sadly, he’ll be rewarded with a new contract from somewhere else soon, and it will be like nothing ever happened. Idiot.

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Baseball season win totals have started popping up on sports books over the last couple of days. As I have said before, these are by far the most interesting of the season long props in my mind. Today I want to take a look at the American League for value opportunities, and I’ll follow up by looking at the National League tomorrow:

Cleveland Indians – 85.5 – I’d certainly jump on the under here. I don’t trust their rotation, I don’t love their depth, and frankly I have been burned by this organization before.  They are a contender in the AL Central, but it is a weak division this year. I don’t think that they will go under by a lot, but I think they will go under.

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So, I’ve been thinking with all of the garbage you hear about guys in professional sports who are baby-cries, idiots and cheaters, there definitely are some players that you can’t help but root for. No, I am not nominating these guys for sainthood, but I am saying that they have character, a strong work ethic and come to play everyday.

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It’s not official yet, but it looks like Ken Griffey is heading back to Seattle to finish out his career where it started. From a baseball perspective or a betting one it probably won’t have much of an impact on the team. Personally, though, I couldn’t be happier. Allow me to be nostalgic for a second:

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The only question I have about the Mariners decision to fire their manager to day is why it took so long. I am embarrassed to admit that I thought that they would be the class of the AL West. Instead, they are the cellar dwellers in the entire league. It’s not like they are coming up just short, either. They have all sorts of talent, and highly paid talent at that, but they just can’t get anything going. This year is a total write-off, but hopefully this change coupled with the fired general manager last week will get the message across that this team can’t be this bad anymore. I have always liked the mariners, and I will continue to as long as they don’t make the decision to get rid of Erik Bedard this season. That would be painfully shortsighted.

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